


Shoot for the Stars (They're in Your Eyes)

by randoyoyo



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Everyone Is Gay, I wanted them in pretty clothes but I'm not good at describing everything I want, I'm so excited for y'all to see the art!!!, Lotor is gorgeous, M/M, Pining, Pining Lance (Voltron), background Sheith - Freeform, essentially a models AU, lance is a pining mess, mentioned zezor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 13:56:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20136574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randoyoyo/pseuds/randoyoyo
Summary: When Lance, a famous model in his own right, found out that he would be doing a photoshoot with the one and only Lotor, he couldn’t imagine just how much his dreams were actually coming true. The pair up of these two famous (and hot) models posing together was too much of an opportunity for their agents to pass up. The now-joint fanbase has created such buzz and publicity that it would only make sense for the two to continue hanging out for the foreseeable future… that is if Lance doesn’t die from embarrassing himself first. Their partnership turns into friendship as time passes and their friendship might be blossoming into something even more… || essentially, a models AU





	Shoot for the Stars (They're in Your Eyes)

**Author's Note:**

> All the thanks to my incredible beta!!! You did so much work and I appreciate you! Check out [Andrew Rose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndrewRose/profile)!
> 
> Also, the beautiful artwork by [dawnatssi](https://dawnatssi.tumblr.com/) is [here](https://dawnatssi.tumblr.com/post/186817590799/lancelot-for-lanceloveshipbang-check-out-the)!

Lance had only ever been speechless three or four times in his life that he could remember.

The first, bare remnants of memory, was at his mother’s wedding. She was getting married for the second time in her life to the man who, while he had not contributed genetically to Lance, had helped shape Lance into the man he is today. He didn’t remember experiences from that day outside of photographs other than when he saw his mother at the back of the aisle in her wedding gown and hair natural—a smile lighting the entire room.

Another time was toward the end of middle school when his long-time friend Allura had made a big show of asking him to the end-of-year dance. It was so unexpected that he hadn’t been able to vocalize that he would because, _ of __course_, she was his best friend.

Being speechless didn’t happen often enough for Lance to get used to it, so when Allura, who was now his manager, told him over dinner that he had a photoshoot booked with _the_Lotor. Lance just. _ Didn’t _know how to deal with that information. The fork that was halfway to his mouth stayed there as Lance just blinked, searching Allura’s face for any sign that she might be lying. He tried laughing to see if that would make her cave.

She pursed her lips and raised both eyebrows, her gaze even more pointed. She wasn’t lying. She wasn’t just trying to pull a reaction from Lance. She meant it. Allura had booked him a shoot with Lotor, and Lance was going to meet his idol.

“Um.”

Allura’s eyes rolled as she gave a lighthearted scoff. “I just told you some of the best news I’ve been able to since becoming your manager and all you can muster up is “um”?”

“Um.”

She laughed. “Ah, just as well. I’d better revel in your momentary speechlessness; I know you won’t be able to stop talking about this once you’re able to process.”

“Um.”

~.~

A week later, Lance still couldn’t believe his luck. And his manager. Allura, he supposed, had the most to do with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (but he still thanked luck—it probably had a hand in this too).

Lance hadn’t had much of a social media presence since Allura had told him the great news beyond updating that _yes_, this photoshoot was actually happening. He was too afraid that he would excessively freak out or do any number of stupid things that could ruin this big break for him.

Now he was daring enough to open it back up, insisting that he would only look and not interact.

_ Lotor_Prince _

He was _gorgeous_. Lance felt his heart beat faster just by looking at his phone screen; he didn’t know how he would be able to cope when he saw the real deal in person.

Lotor’s dark complexion, bright white hair, and confident glare made him perfect for clothing depicting royalty.

Large, jewel-encrusted crowns. Small, intricate bands across his forehead or down his forearms. Bustling, expensive rolls of clothing. Elegant and sleek formal wear. Layers upon layers with one too many buttons undone (that was _not _a complaint, Lance just felt it was too many for his small, overheating brain to handle).

Royalty was a favorite for his shoots, but Lotor could do it all.

Casual and sporty. Business and beach. Even a few movie promos where he’d been in soldier, fantasy, and space wear.

Throughout every picture - flawless.

Lance couldn’t cope with that! He had quite a bit of range himself, but it seemed incomplete compared to Lotor.

And yet.

He was still doing a photoshoot with him. He was good enough to score at least a first—it was yet to be determined if he would ever get a second opportunity. And it was in less than a month.

~.~

Lance did everything he could to avoid talking about the Lotor shoot in the following weeks. His social media presence bounced back a bit, but he still didn’t feel comfortable answering the flood of questions about Lotor.

_ How do you feel about the upcoming shoot?? _

_ If my favs don’t do something soft with each other like hug or hold hands I stg I’ll scream _

_ No pressure but if these photos with you two aren’t amazing I’m gonna cry and never trust the modeling industry again. _

Ordinarily, he could brush off the comments—he shouldn’t even look at them in the first place—and either laugh them off or use them as fuel to do even better, but this time was different. Combining the comments with the nerves he was already feeling about meeting Lotor was making the pressure hit him even harder. What if he messed it up? What if he did something to make Lotor never even want the photos to be released? What would happen to his career if he blundered this big opportunity? All the words and warnings and hopes and dreams kept swirling around in his head getting louder and louder until—

“_Lance_? Are you okay?" 

Lance lifted his head and sucked in a huge breath. He hadn’t been breathing. He wasn’t even aware.

“Oh— ha, yeah, I’m doing great. Never better. Just my little pre-shoot meditation game I like to play where I try to hold my breath for as long as I can. Trying to beat my personal record.”

Allura blinked at him, unamused. “Nice try, Lance. You forget who you’re talking to. You can’t lie to your best friend.”

Lance sighed. “I’m nervous.” Allura placed her hand on his shoulder.

“It’s going to be okay. It’s just another photoshoot, you’ve done plenty of those. The worst that could happen? You don’t get a repeat. But that’s not even a stake that’s been discussed—that would just be a bonus. You have nothing to lose.”

Lance scrunched his face tight before opening his eyes wide and blinking a few times in an attempt to clear his thoughts. “Nothing to lose,” he repeated. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“Nothing except your own sanity if you keep working yourself up like this.” Allura’s smirk was all-knowing, much like her as a whole. The rest of the car ride to their location would be rather lengthy if he didn’t give in to Allura and get out of his own head. She was right once again; it was going to be okay.

Lance carried that thought with him to the set—through the gates onto the lot, and to the door he would enter through. He blocked out any stimuli that might interrupt it and followed Allura onto the set. Nothing could mess up his flow. He was so close now, on his way to hair, makeup, and wardrobe. He just had to pass by the first set up, and he would be okay.

He saw the flash of light and heard a voice call out; “Ah, it’s such a pleasure to be working with you again! You have such a natural beauty about you.”

“Oh, please, Ryan, all credit goes to the women. You know I couldn’t get dressed most days without them.”

It was the second voice that broke the mantra of _ It’s all okay._ It caused a hiccup in Lance’s heartbeat. The words were smooth and low, in an accent that was quite similar to Allura’s, though to Lance, admittedly, his voice was much more _alluring._

It was Lotor.

Lance wasn’t ready by any standard—he was still wearing the hoodie and sweatpants that he always did pre-shoot for more comfort during the long getting ready phase—and yet he found himself stopping in his tracks to get his first sighting of Lotor in the flesh. Lance gulped.

He had known that he was stunning—any fool who didn’t was either blind or dead. He had spent time trying to prepare for this moment. Lance instantly forgot everything he had told himself to _not_ do.

Sure, he was a good model, but that didn’t teach him how to act around people. He was still awkward and shy no matter the case when first meeting a new person, and Lotor’s presence was easily the most intimidating thing he could imagine. He was so… _confident._

The news had called this “the most anticipated photoshoot of the millennia”. As if Lance wasn’t nervous enough without that added pressure. They weren’t going to meet each other, however, until after they were all ready.

Lotor was doing a small solo shoot while he awaited Lance’s arrival. Luckily, his gaze was distant for the shot, and Lance was hidden behind enough equipment that he couldn’t be seen. Not so that he couldn’t marinate in the sight of Lotor himself, however. He was dressed in all black—undershirt, long jacket, jeans that were tastefully ripped at the knees, shoes, and dark sunglasses. His hair was held back in a low ponytail so it wouldn’t obstruct his view whilst showing off his impossibly cute ears that were slightly more pointed than rounded. The angle of his face put the sharpness of his jaw on clear display.

Allura had to snap her fingers in front of Lance’s face a few times to snap him out of his daze and direct him to his side of the set where his team was waiting.

Almost an hour later, Lance’s hair was finished, and his makeup was close to done—if he could stop nearly sweating out of it, which made the task all the more difficult for his stylist. “Take it easy, loverboy,” Keith said with a small frown as he concentrated on dabbing away any sheen from Lance’s forehead. “You need to calm yourself, or all of my hard work will be gone before you even get to meet him.”

Lance laughed, but it was tight. Forced. His eyes betrayed how he was really feeling. “Sorry, man. There’s a lot that’s going through my head right now. My brain feels like it’s overheating.”

“Nah,” Keith chided with a smirk, “that’s just the consequence of you trying to think.”

Lance’s eyes flicked up to Keith’s. “Oh, shut your quiznak. I’ll tell on you at wardrobe.”

“Snitch!” Keith exclaimed with a look of feigned betrayal. He stepped back to examine his work, reaching forward to stroke a brush once more over his right cheek. “Alright. You’re done. Time for the next stop.”

“Hm, so you’re just going to let me walk over to Shiro and tell him how mean you’ve been today without trying to stop me or explain yourself?”

Keith squinted as Lance’s eyes finally smiled along with his mouth. Lance figured that Keith knew he was messing with him, but that he didn't care anyway. Just over in the corner a little way, tucked behind a small wall of privacy, was the wardrobe area. The wardrobe that was run by none other than Shiro himself, the man that made Keith softer than the Vicuña wool coat Lance wore during a special tribute shoot honoring Hispanic countries around the world.

While Lance himself was feeling a little sick to his stomach, he liked Keith and Shiro enough from all the work they do together to try to score them both some time with each other. Perhaps it was an odd thing to do, but Lance couldn’t be concerned with whether or not it was particularly _normal_.

“Shiro!” Lance called as he walked closer, attempting to sound better than he felt. “What have you got to make me look good?”

Shiro was already chuckling as he came out from behind the privacy wall. He was looking down at a clipboard, however, so he didn’t see that he had extra company this time. “Well that ass always looks good in the black leather pants, so we’re gonna start with that. Can’t have Lotor one-upping you too hard from the get-go. Plus his wardrobe and I got together to set up a couple matching outfits. The shoot today is sticking to more high contrast colors, so we’ll do full black outfits, then white, then red. Sound good?”

“It’d sound better if you didn’t compliment another man’s ass,” Keith grunted, “especially right in my face.”

Shiro’s eyes shot up from the clipboard in his hands and brightened immediately. “K-Keith! I didn’t realize you’d come over here too, I…” He stopped, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He instantly looked calmer, more in control of himself again. Lance wished that would work for him. “You know what my job is.”

“Checking out other people?”

“_Keith _.”

“Guys!” Lance whined. “I’m gonna die here! Could you please save your flirting for later? I need an outfit and a new, I don’t know, personality or something. Anything to help me survive here!”

Shiro clicked his tongue. “Pretty sure you’re just being dramatic, but you’re the boss, boss.” Shiro playfully kept his eyes away for a moment, but when Lance didn’t respond, he made direct eye contact and huffed. Lance’s gaze was so restless that Shiro swore he could see rolling waves in them. “Hey, c’mon, you know I’ll take care of you. And you really don’t need to worry about your personality, Lance. If you can charm Keith, you can charm anyone.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Keith’s eyes were glittering but hard, like he was begging for a challenge. He turned to Lance before turning back on Shiro. “Seriously, man, you’re gonna be fine! Take some deep breaths, okay?”

“Boys! Are you ready?”

That was the call. Lance still wasn’t dressed. “Five minutes, Allura!”

“Yikes,” Shiro said lowly. “Better get to wiggling, the leather likes to hug your curves.”

Five-ish minutes (okay… maybe _ten_) later, Lance was dressed. Black leather pants that made his ass look good, a sleeveless collared top that accentuated his arms, and a small choker that brought out a little beast of confidence from deep within. He loved himself in chokers.

On set, Lotor was still in the same clothes from before. That helped Lance a bit because he knew what to expect, but it still was a punch to the gut at just how well he pulled it together.

When he noticed Lance walking up, Lotor’s face focused in with a bright smile. “Lance McClain, it’s such a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Lotor,” Lance said, nothing else coming to mind. “Just Lotor.”

Lotor sort of laughed and Lance didn’t know what to do next, and even though his hands felt clammy, he stuck one out as if to shake. _ Really?! _ he chided himself internally. But he had done it now. There was no undoing that.

Lance’s smile felt less than genuine now, it was probably more like a grimace displaying his embarrassment.

Lotor quirked an eyebrow. He reached his hand up, and Lance thought _ Good. He’ll put an end to this_. He took Lance’s hand and then, slowly, brought it up to his lips to press a kiss to his knuckles.

What was breathing? Lance didn’t know her.

Lotor let Lance’s hand go, and he had to ignore the way it just fell back to his side. He was weak. He was a mess. “It seems we have some time until Ryan begins directing us again, are there any positions you would like us to try in the black ensemble?”

_ Oh, you have no idea. _

“Hm, no. I can’t think of anything right now.” Lotor smiled. Did he know? “What about you?”

“I agree. We should probably just wait for our dear photographer, though I think you have more ideas than you let on.” _ He did know! _ “I’ve… followed some of your work, Lance. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have asked my agent for this opportunity. It’s exciting what you’re doing for the modeling world. You’re making your own distinct mark, though I hope the stifling nature of this industry won’t choke out your own ideas—don’t be afraid to let them out. Try and see. That is the only way you can learn and grow. If your photographer doesn’t agree, then, well, I don’t think they’re the one for you.”

If it was possible, Lance didn’t know what to say even more than before. Lotor’s ease with words just didn’t seem fair to him.

“I, um… well, thanks. Thank you, Lotor.”

He nodded. “Ah, there’s our man! Come work your magic on the both of us,” Lotor greeted, as another man around Lance’s age walked over with both a scarf and a camera hanging from his neck.

“Alright you two, let’s set the record straight first. I have the camera, I’m good at my job, and you _will_look good. That extra spark of magic, however? That’s all you, baby.” He winked at Lance. “Let’s get to work.”

It took Lance a few shots and poses longer than it usually did (which probably had something to do with the walking wet dream he was positioned so close to, who he now knew had as much kindness as visual appeal), but he was able to fall into his modeling rhythm. The pressure and nerves slowly faded into the background as he drew from deep within his persona. The man who made the cover of many magazines and the background of even more phones.

He was able to loosen up more and even join Ryan and Lotor’s chatting throughout. But the moment that stuck out the most was during their third outfit, the red set, when Lance made a comment that wasn’t even one of his best jokes. 

But Lotor _laughed_.

It was the most beautiful sound to ever grace Lance’s ears since his mother’s laugh.

~.~

Lance lived the week after the photoshoot in a dream state. What else could he do? Not only had he met Lotor, but he had found out that Lotor had actually somewhat known who he was before the shoot. He’d said nice things to him. And he’d laughed at one of Lance’s jokes, a sound which would be burned into his ears and his heart for as long as his memory would permit him.

He still found himself caught up in living that moment over and over—_too _ often if you asked Allura—and it kept Lance in a sort of daze. It also kept him itching over the search bar of social media, desperately wanting to look up Lotor’s face just to see him again. To see one of him smiling and pretend it was the laughter to his stupid one-liner.

He had just given in to his urge when he noticed a bunch of notifications were streaming in on the app he opened. Much more than usual. Allura rushed into the room, her eyes bright. “Lance, sit down.”

“I’m already sitting—”

“Sit _ down _ because I’m about to knock you off your fucking feet again.”

Lance was smiling, but his eyebrows were furrowed. He raised off the couch a bit just to plop back down dramatically. “Okay, your Highness, what’s all this about?”

“Acxa just called—Lotor’s manager?—they’ve just released the photos. The internet went wild. Lotor’s fans, your fans, they’re all _losing_it. She wants another shoot, I said yes. You have another shoot with Lotor.”

If Lance could train his body to physically obey his dramatic flair, he would have passed out in that moment. But he would have to settle for the squealing, shaking, leg pumping celebration he performed instead.

~.~

Being a nervous wreck before a photoshoot was so not the habit Lance wished he would form, but his legs were bouncing, he had to keep wiping sweat from his palms, his eyes couldn’t stay still as he looked around the inside of the vehicle, and Allura was now openly staring at him over the top of her cellphone.

“Hey,” she said as she reached over a gentle hand to soothe his restlessness. “You’ve already done this before, yeah? You’ve survived. And you did a great enough job that _they_asked _us_back. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” The car arrived, and they exited. Allura was called over to a waiting Acxa as Lance reluctantly had to walk the opposite direction of his best friend. “I’ll meet you at wardrobe in a bit,” she called over her shoulder. “Just keep being your amazing self, okay, Lance?”

He gulped. He could survive. It was just a short walk, don’t talk to anyone, and make it to Keith. Take it one step at a time. Don’t think about having to spend more time with _someone_where he could mess all the things up or say something terrible or make an utter fool of himself. In fact, don’t think of him at all. Do not think of the gorgeous, incredible man who could punch Lance in the face and still get thanked by him. Don’t think of—

“Lance McClain,” someone said. It was a rumble of a voice, one that found itself working into Lance’s consciousness in the form of a shiver throughout his whole body.

He blinked. No, that can’t be right. He shouldn’t see him until he’s all ready for the shoot and _not_when he’s flustered and completely unprepared—and oh look, he’s heading this way and standing right in front of him with a smile that makes Lance’s knees feel like they’re made of jelly.

“Lotor, it’s—” he was cut off by the very man he spoke to reaching down to pick up his hand from where it was hanging at his side and press a gentle kiss on the knuckles before he could even protest (not that he ever would).

Lance tried to respond, but he knew his voice wouldn’t be working right away. He pushed a hand through his hair. Pinched the end of his shirt so he could smooth it out again. Cleared his throat. Tried not to think about how structurally unsound his legs were at the moment. “So,” Lance said with a forced chuckle, “seems like they want us to meet again. We did pretty well the first time, I guess.”

Lotor’s gaze was sharp, and his growing smile was sweet. If he wondered about the long pause and lack of acknowledgment of his growing traditional greeting, he didn’t seem like he would mention it. “Yes, that is why our agents booked another photoshoot. It seems rather important to our careers.”

Lance gulped. Not only did Lotor kiss his hand again in greeting again, but he also thought it was important for his career that he be _here_. With him. Doing a photo shoot together.

That was... well, it was thrilling for a start.

He didn’t necessarily like the implications of this being solely a business endeavor, but he would take what he could get. It hadn’t been likely that the _first_photoshoot should have happened. Now that Lance was getting an even unlikelier chance at a second one with Lotor? He would do everything in his power to not mess that up.

“Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?” Lance kept glancing around, trying not to freak out, trying to think of anything smart to say. Or anything at all, really. “I guess we’ll be doing the same three-outfit pattern that we did last time?”

Lotor made a deep noise of agreement that went directly through Lance’s ear and straight to a different part of his body. _ Wow_. “Yes, I was told casual like we have on, then business, and then a mystery outfit.” Lotor seemed offended by the last one, though more like the playful way Lance feels about Keith when he keeps information from him but still lets Shiro know. “Normally Acxa is upfront with me, but she didn’t give me anything to go on. The only two I know I pulled out of a guilty Ezor, though Zethrid interrupted before my interrogation was complete.”

“Ezor and Zethrid?”

“Ah, of course! My makeup and clothing gods. Both are good friends of mine now, but they’re hopelessly in love with each other.”

Lance’s mouth dropped open. “No way, mine too!”

Lotor laughed. “Really? Must be a Thing, then. I can hardly get them to focus when the other’s around, it’s so good they work in separate areas.”

“I completely agree,” Lance said with a firm nod. The conversation continued, just nearly turning toward which person on their teams they felt the most comfortable around (they both agreed their managers).

“Lance! Let’s go!” He has only just realized how entranced by Lotor he had been, so caught up at each thing they found they had in common, that the stupid smile on his face had short-circuited his brain from any further thought.

“Okay, well, that’s me!” Lance cringed internally. _ That’s me?? Of course, he knows that! _ “See you soon!” He quickly tucked a small strand of his hair behind one ear, then bolted away.

As he retreated, he missed Lotor’s soft, wide eyes at the gesture.

~.~

“You’re a mess, Lance,” Shiro said at Lance’s reflection in the mirror, lopsided grin and all. His excuse for being at the makeup station had been that he was done with the outfits already, and boredom. “He likes you enough. You need to focus on just being cool and being yourself.”

Keith snorted. “Well just pick one, Shiro, don’t make it more conflicting.” Lance pinched the hand that was resting as a steadier on his face.

“Hey!” Keith pinched Lance’s cheek.

“Quit it!” Lance reaches for another patch of skin.

“Guys, hey!” Shiro was laughing. They all were. Keith was an inch away from smearing makeup in a place where it didn’t belong when—

“Boys! Stop this right now!” Three pairs of eyes rotated over to a stern-looking Allura. “Now you know I don’t mind when you have fun and waste_ my _time, but we have other people waiting on us. Lotor is ready, and you’re still on makeup. How does that make us look?”

Slowly their hands all retreated back to their sides as Shiro and Keith took a step away from Lance’s chair. “Allura, we didn’t mean—”

“No, it’s fine.” Her eyebrows unpinched as she sighed. “I hate to be so uptight, but we still need to be professionals here. We got a good break with this second photoshoot, and Lance did amazing at the first, but I have been talking with Acxa, and she’s put me a bit on edge. We have to keep our eyes on the future if we want to keep Lance’s brand and our income. Please finish up here.”

In the silence that followed, Lance felt his nerves creeping back. Allura was right. They needed to keep thinking about the future and how to remain professional even in the midst of things that might turn fun.

So what did that mean for him? He needed to keep anything that happened with Lotor under wraps. He couldn’t let it get away from him. He couldn’t get distracted by his impossibly smooth hair, or his infinitely adorable ears, or his incredibly endearing laugh if he was going to survive another day with him. No big deal. It would be easy.

Except that Lance was incredibly distracted by everything that Lotor was. Ryan kept mildly chiding him that he needed to look in a particular direction, even though he wouldn’t say _ Just stop looking at Lotor_. He feared he was messing up the shoot with his body’s incompliance to his mind’s thoughts, but it continued on, and Ryan didn’t seem too upset by what was happening.

The first set consisted of Lotor catching up with Lance and Ryan over things since the previous shoot. The second brought Lance’s feeble attempts to keep up a normal chatter and a few glimpses of that glorious laugh that Lance knew for sure he would now never, ever forget.

He was such a mess that by the time he was changing into the mystery third outfit, his eyes were unfocused, and he relied entirely on Shiro to help him get ready. Shiro was talking softly to him about things he did over the weekend and the movie he and Keith saw, but Lance could tell it was because he knew Lance wouldn’t be able to keep up much of his end of the conversation at the moment.

Shiro squeezed his shoulder to ease him back to the present. “You’re ready, Lance.”

Lance blinked into the mirror.

“That’s it?”

Adorning his body was only, simply, a pair of yellow fitted jeans. Nothing else.

“Lance, you’ve done shoots in even less,” Shiro reminded him.

Lance gulped. “No, it’s not that. I’ve never been in this little in front of _ him_, Shiro.”

“Oh please, like he hasn’t looked up those photo shoots himself. I’m sure he’s quite acquainted with you, as I know you are with him.”

Lance ignored the heating up of his cheeks. He swallowed down his protest, however, as he knew it was entirely untrue and would only serve to make him sound guiltier. So instead, he wordlessly left the wardrobe to head to the set.

He nearly tripped as he saw what was waiting for him. Lotor, all six-plus-feet of him, waiting shirtless for him. He was wearing a pair of light blue fitted jeans and a dark blue tie. Lance was shocked—not only from the god-tier package of carved muscle on Lotor’s abdomen but because he was fiddling with the end of his tie. He almost looked... nervous? But that couldn’t be right, could it?

“Hey!” Lance called with an awkward chuckle. “Ready for our final big show?”

Lotor smiled. “Good to know I’m not the only one in so little.”

Lance’s face felt hot. “Yeah, I suppose it was only a matter of time before they wanted us without shirts.”

“Well, well, well,” Ryan called as he walked back over to the set. “This one should be fun, yeah? Let’s get to work.”

This set felt like he was starting over with his persona. He didn’t want to seem like he was afraid to touch Lotor because he knew that could be construed the wrong way, but it was mostly wary that any skin to skin contact would cause him to combust. It was hard to bring his confidence to the surface when he was still so shaken at the sight of so much of Lotor’s perfect body right in front of his eyes—and not just displayed on a screen.

The photographer stopped them after a few shots. “Okay. We’ve got some basics, but I can see that your usual magic touch seems out of reach. Where’d it go? Let’s get it back. Turn and look at each other. Get comfortable. Interact. No forced moves by me, just interact, okay?”

“Sounds like he wants us to interact, huh?” Lance said and immediately wanted to slap himself at yet another fabulous job at stating the fucking _obvious_. It was literally what Ryan had just said. It didn’t need restating. Lotor just smiled.

“Let’s give him what he wants then, shall we?” He reached his hand forward, though the expression on his face seemed lost enough that Lance didn’t think he was in control of his movement. Lance’s left arm ever so slowly tucked under the right one which reached out to grab Lotor’s tie as he leaned away. He couldn’t help that he felt all of his emotions were so present on his face; it must have been written in actual words how intoxicated he was by Lotor.

Lotor’s hand brushed gently down Lance’s cheek and came to rest cupping his chin. Lance hardly dared to breathe. They met each other’s gaze, and when he dared to take a glance down to Lotor’s lips, he could swear in the instance after, Lotor mirrored the look.

“There’s some magic!” Ryan called. “Now try something else.”

Lance turned his head away. He needed to catch his breath now, he didn’t know how long they had been looking at each other. It probably felt like longer than it actually was.

They finished the photoshoot, Lance trying to be as casual as he could, but he didn’t dare meet Lotor’s eyes again for more than a passing second. He was too afraid of what he might accidentally do given the power of his heady stare.

When he was getting changed back into regular clothes and wiping away some of his makeup, he glanced distractedly to the side of the room where he knew Lotor was doing about the same thing as him.

“Guys, I kind of hope they don’t want any more photoshoots.”

Shiro’s jaw dropped. “What?” Keith asked harshly. “Why not?”

Lance’s lip wobbled a bit as he smiled, so he shook his head (as if that would work—as if he could ever erase Lotor from his seared position in his brain). “I don’t think I can handle being this close to him again. He’s too perfect. It’s too much for me.”

Shiro patted Lance’s shoulder. “Hey, you’re a champ. You’re strong. And you’re just as amazing as you claim he is, okay? Even Keith agrees.”

Keith nodded firmly.

“You’re strong, Lance. Plus, even if there are more photoshoots, it won’t be that big of a deal. I can assure you you won’t be seeing each other that often.”

~.~

“Lance, you’re gonna be seeing Lotor a lot more often.”

“_What? _”

Allura had shown up at Lance’s place unannounced and plopped herself down onto the couch next to him. “You heard me, and you’re welcome.”

She held out her phone. It was a picture, not from Ryan’s camera, but still of Lance and Lotor. It must have been taken right after Ryan interrupted the moment where they were told to do whatever they wanted because Lotor’s hand was still on Lance’s chin and Lance was still holding Lotor’s tie. Their faces were slightly turned away from each other and Lance knew his own face well enough to tell he was damn near blushing. They seemed to be quite comfortable with each other in that moment.

“Acxa took this behind the scenes candid between Ryan’s shots and posted it to social media. It absolutely blew up. You haven’t seen?”

Lance shook his head. “No, I have not seen this out of context photo. She can’t call it a candid, can she? I feel like it was staged too much to be called that.”

“Lance, you are _ so _missing the point.” She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. Allura believed this was great news. “The internet loves it! Everyone loves it! You and Lotor have both had a spike in fans, and Acxa and I—well, mostly her—have come up with the perfect plan to ride that wave.”

“This is exploitation!”

“Lance, it’s the modeling industry, of _course, _ it’s exploitation. Everything is. What’s gotten into you, I thought you would be thrilled to go on dates with Lotor?”

Lance’s jaw dropped. He stood up. He sat back down. He stood up again and walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water just to drink three sips and pour the rest down the sink. He paced back over to Allura. “I’m going to _ what _.”

“You and Lotor will ride a high success if you’re seen together right now, which you need more than him to push you that final step to A-list, baby. _ So_, you two will go out together and be seen by the press in each other’s company. Easy.”

Easy. _ Easy _ He was just told that he, Lance, would have to be spending time in close, date-like proximity to Lotor for a cause that was very much not a date and very much only for fame, recognition, and money.

Easy.

But it wasn’t like he could fight Allura’s decisions, especially one that she didn’t realize wasn’t actually such a good thing for Lance’s poor heart. So he nodded and immediately started worrying about how he could possibly even prepare for this.

That very week, Lance and Lotor met in public for the press to see. It was their managers’ idea to make it happen as soon as possible. They tried to make the most of their lunch, but Lance could tell that at the very least his own attitude was off. Sure, he was still head over heels for Lotor, but it was one thing to pine on your own, and another to be told to pine in public.

It felt less genuine. It wasn’t real, and Lance didn’t feel that he could allow himself to fake it. The eventual let down he would feel if he allowed himself to get too wrapped up in this fantasy would just hurt too much in the fallout.

They met again the following week. And again. They attended a fashion show together. They walked in the park, got ice cream, visited an art museum and a zoo, and any other “cute” public date area Acxa and Allura decided would be good.

Lance couldn’t deny that he loved getting to spend time with Lotor, even though the act was getting harder and harder to keep up. He couldn’t allow space for his real feelings to show, so it was just an act. It was just like an extended photoshoot with outfit changes that included time and location.

It was getting to the point that it was almost unbearable. Lance was scrolling through Lotor’s social media and sighing dramatically, working up the nerve to call him and tell the truth. Tell him he couldn’t do it anymore. Tell him that every time he looked at Lotor or saw a picture of the two of them together that it was an ice pick to the heart.

A-list be damned, he couldn’t do this anymore. He needed to talk to Lotor.

His doorbell rang.

Lance set his phone down. That was weird. The only person who ever visited him where he lived was Allura, and she had her own key.

He crept over and peeped through a tiny window before opening the door with wide eyes. It didn’t seem possible. When he wasn’t thinking he needed to see him the most, there he was. Lance found himself speechless once again.

“You—I didn’t—I mean, _ Lotor_. What are you doing here?”

“Lance. We need to talk.”

He gulped. Those words never sounded good, but something was filling Lotor’s voice that made him even more nervous about what was going to happen. “Yeah,” he said with a slight crack in his voice. “Come on in, we can talk inside.”

Lotor stepped through the threshold and then paused, looking down at his shoes and then to the floor just inside the door. “Don’t worry about it,” Lance told him, sensing the hesitation, “I don’t mind if you keep your shoes on or not.”

Lotor pressed his lips together, then settled them with a nod. He followed Lance with his shoes still on.

Lance sat down on the couch, his heart racing. He patted the spot next to him as an invitation for Lotor to sit but also used it as an excuse to subtly wipe off his sweaty palms. “What’s up?” he tried to ask as cool as his voice would allow him.

“It’s about... our _ arrangement _.” He stopped and pushed his hair back from the top of his head. That was a habit Lance had only noticed a few times when there was something that was really stressing him. Yet another reason to dread what was about to be said.

Lance didn’t know what would be worse. That he wants to continue their near-scripted charade, or that he wanted it all to stop because it was too unrealistic.

“I don’t think I can continue going out as we have been.”

Ouch. Okay. That one probably hurt more.

“I just can’t continue as we’ve been,” he continued, “because to me it isn’t real. Posing for the press, going where our agents arrange, I just can’t keep that up, Lance. It’s too much for me.”

Lance closed his eyes to compose himself, willing the building storm to not turn into falling tears until Lotor was gone. That was what he wanted to say to him anyway, right? “I see.” Why did it seem to hurt so much more coming from him?

“Wait, no, it’s not. I’m not saying this very well, it isn’t that—”

“No, no, it’s okay. I understand. I mean, who would really believe that I could score someone like Lotor, right? You are literally perfection, it doesn’t make sense that you’d keep being seen with me all the time, it’s okay. We can just call Allura and Acxa and tell them we’re sorry, but it’s too much for us to—”

“No! Please, Lance just hear me out!”

Lance stopped. He hadn’t realized he’d been moving. His phone was in his hand again, he was on his feet, and Lotor had taken a few steps away from the couch to grab his hands and prevent him from calling Allura.

“The reason I don’t want things to continue as they’ve been is because I want so much more. I want the trips and the dates to be from _us_and not just what _Acxa_thinks would be best. I don’t want these staged dates because I want them to be _ real _.”

Lance was full-on speechless now. He was searching Lotor’s face for true intentions, wanting beyond hope to know that this was real. That Lotor could actually want him for more than just opportunistic pictures. He seemed pretty fucking genuine, and every single feature was still gorgeous, especially the little crease between his eyebrows.

“Lance McClain, you’ve got stars in your eyes and gold in your heart, and you are worth _so_much more than us just parading around where our agents want us to go. You deserve to have my full attention, and I want to offer that to you if you’re interested. I want to give you the world and the moon and anything you want, anything at all.”

He grinned and shook his head, yes. Lotor scooped him up into a hug and kept his hands on Lance's shoulders as he pulled back to see his face again. Lance's smile just got bigger. He didn't know what tomorrow held, but right now he was _being_ held by Lotor. And that was pretty amazing too. "Lotor. _That's_ what I want. Just Lotor."


End file.
